Raw Food Diet - Day 11 (Blog)

[Savage]

Use this thread to discuss the following entry from Steve Pavlina's blog:

Raw Food Diet - Day 11

[Rosie]

Please don't stop your daily reports!

[wbuch]

I notice you don't seem to eat baby carrots, such as you can get in a 5 lb bag at Costco. What is the reason you decided not to eat those and use cut-up regular whole carrots instead? It would seem to be much easier to use the baby carrots, so apparently there must be something I'm missing, such as since the baby carrots don't have the skin, they don't have as many nutrients. Or is there some other reason?

Thanks.
Will

[curtmac01]

Every time I read these posts it makes me hungry for fruit. For instance, yesterday I ate 3 bananas in one sitting and then I ate about three handfuls of blueberries, and I still wasn't full. Oh well, I'll just stick to my cooked food diet. Good luck Steve, hope you make it out alive!

[MasterD]

Jo Steve, sounds good! Needed that encouragement. I could not sleep at all for 2 nights in a row. This is pretty similar to the experiences I have when I eat too much sugar or drink too much alcohol; so I was worried about getting too much sugar; maybe I have to balance it out with more veggies too. However aside from that I felt pretty euphoric yesterday; maybe also because I past my exam in the morning on 0 hours of sleep. Last night I slept again, fortunately; but feeling really groggy; nasal congestion, head-ache, etc.. but that's pretty much what you would expect after being awake for such a long time. I too am going to put in some more veggies today. By the way, because after my morning exam there was no way I could work, so I decided to implement the GTD archiving system. I got half-way through it, thorougly cleaned my room and made a food log. So I made phenomenal use of my 'being extremely mentally foggy' time.

Keep it up!!

[ReallyGoodIdeas]

It's the green smoothies that does it I reckon. Last 2 days I've slipped slightly, and just realised that I haven't had green smoothies these last 2 days. They are magic potion indeed! I've had huge difficulty sticking the course wthout them. Going to make one now!

More power to you Steve!!!

[Keith]

What exactly is Kale and can you get it in Australia? I don't recall seeing it at the fruit and veg shop.

P.S. Here in Australia "Baby Carrots" are young carrots. I was very surprised to find that in the US they're just cut up full-grown carrots...

[Fortune]

This is Kale:
Kale - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Here I can only get full leaves in the health food store. Supermarkets have it too, but pre-cut in a bag. I've never seen it during the summer, only in the cold months.

Don't know if you can get it in Australia, though.

[klokkasju]

@Fortune
I think that's not the kale Steve eats raw. In the pictures of Steve's meals it looks more like this kale.

[Gail Hollies]

I read your post yesterday and last night I dreamed about food (not a lucid dream though). I dreamed that I was in a big hall with lots of people and they were serving these "meat ball" looking things - they turned out to be pastry with live mice inside. (By the way, I'm a vegetarian). Everyone else seemed to think it perfectly normal to be eating these. I got extremely upset and started crying a lot. I felt like I had to eat these things but I just couldn't face it - the mice were coming out of the pastry and they looked so cute! Eventually, I pushed them away and they made a mad dash for it and escaped by running across a busy street (I think they made it!) Everyone in the room turned to look at me and seemed to be horrified by what I'd done.

[Fortune]

Originally Posted by klokkasju

I think that's not the kale Steve eats raw. In the pictures of Steve's meals it looks more like this kale.

I wouldn't call that kale but white (or maybe green) cabbage. They're completely different!

[Kita]

Keith- whereabouts in Australia do you live? I started a raw trial this month too and ordered some off Green Line Organic Direct (website that delivers organic food in Melbourne), so you can definitely get it here but apparently not in supermarkets. I'd guess they sell it at the Vic Market/other largish farmer's markets as well.

In terms of variety, the key for me has been lots of smoothies. I love coming up with new combinations. Freezing the fruit beforehand makes a thickshake like consistency, which is great in the Australian summer and it makes me feel like my childhood dream of eating dessert all day has come true. I probably would find it harder if I wasn't using dates and honey though, which I notice are on your banned list.

As a side note, like a lot of people I found this blog through the sleep experiment, which I'm planning to attempt in February. I'm interested to see how this diet affects it.

[Savage]

Originally Posted by wbuch

I notice you don't seem to eat baby carrots, such as you can get in a 5 lb bag at Costco. What is the reason you decided not to eat those and use cut-up regular whole carrots instead? It would seem to be much easier to use the baby carrots, so apparently there must be something I'm missing, such as since the baby carrots don't have the skin, they don't have as many nutrients. Or is there some other reason?

Thanks.
Will

You're not the first person to ask me why I'm not eating a food I've already eaten.

You'll see some organic baby carrots in the Day 5 lunch photo:
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/200...od-diet-day-5/

I prefer to peel my own carrots though, since the baby carrots don't taste nearly as good. It doesn't take me long to peel and cut a few carrots.

[Savage]

Originally Posted by klokkasju

@Fortune
I think that's not the kale Steve eats raw. In the pictures of Steve's meals it looks more like this kale.

Fortune's link was correct actually. Your link goes to a pic of green cabbage. At least that's what it's called in the USA.

[klokkasju]

@Fortune, Steve
I beg your pardon. The online dictionary I use totally fails translating all this veggies. It seems like there is a color-shift, because what you call green cabbage, is "white cabbage" in my language (if I translate it back word by word) and what you call kale is "green cabbage". At least red cabbage is red

[gettingskinny]

I found todays post to be an interesting read! I enjoyed it very much. I wonder Steve if your euphoric feeling is here to stay. You are reporting what a lot of raw foodists do. This feeling of joy, happiness and health!

I don't think I could eat as strictly as you do for a lifestyle change. I know you are choosing to be this strict for 30 days. Heck, anyone can do anything for 30 days if we put our mind to it. Do you think you could continue on this strict? Do you think you might continue all raw, but with more variety? Or go back to cooked vegan? I'm curious to see. I'll be watching with the rest of them!

I'm glad to see that you are able to keep working out too. Your body is probably jumping up and down inside and thanking you!

Do you think though that getting sprouted, raw beans, lentils, oats, sprouts, and grains would be essential every day for a long term raw food diet?

About turning orange...that happened to my son when he was a baby! At 7 months old, I switched him from breast milk to a home made raw goat's milk formula. I juiced organic carrots for the mix and he looked like he was "fake baked"! It was hilarious!

Have a great raw day!

January

[Tripp444]

Reading this log everyday has me craving fruits and veggies! I don't think I would have the discipline to switch to a totally raw diet (although I AM giving up meat for 30 days which is huge for me!) but I was thinking about doing an all-fruit breakfast/mid-morning snack. My concern is that I would simply be adding calories and sugars to my regular diet which would hamper my weight-loss goals. Any thoughts? It seems like Steve is losing weight on this diet, but do you think it's because he's going totally raw across the board? Could there be any benefit to going raw for just a half-day?

[Jacko Green]

hang in there!~ 20 more days and you'll be able to eat normal again. I look at all that fruit and don't see how you do it. Those meals make me want to grab a barf bag. yuk!

[Calculusaurus]

heh, I did enjoy the environmental side note...

It's always amazed me how most environmentalists have no sense of quantity or importance. I get yelled at for not recycling one paper, but they turn around and take long showers, or use overnight shipping from online orders (that's a lot of plane fuel), or ... you get the idea.

In all fairness, I don't know of any good source on what activities have what environmental impact. It was a bit counter-intuitive (thus interesting) to read:

You’ll have a more positive environmental impact if you drive a Hummer, shun recycling, buy all your stuff from the opposite side of the planet, and eat vegetarian a few days per week vs. eating a SAD diet while going completely green in all other areas.

But think about it: unless you have a good grasp on global economics (markets, the practices of several industries...) and environmental science (geology, physics...), then most true information regarding environmental impact probably will seem counter-intuitive.

[Fortune]

Originally Posted by klokkasju

The online dictionary I use totally fails translating all this veggies.

I know what you mean. My language isn't English either and it's always a lot of fun trying to decipher exactly what veggies and spices these recipes call for.

Besides, even supermarkets don't always label things consistently in the same language either.

[Savage]

Originally Posted by Calculusaurus

But think about it: unless you have a good grasp on global economics (markets, the practices of several industries...) and environmental science (geology, physics...), then most true information regarding environmental impact probably will seem counter-intuitive.

I found the environmental info surprising when I first encountered it. I wouldn't say it's counter-intuitive, just not common knowledge. If you simply add up all the steps involved in animal products production, it adds up in a pretty logical manner.

For example, what has to happen to get a burger on your plate?

1. grow massive amounts of corn, grain, and soybeans (with all the required tilling, irrigation, crop dusters, and so on)
2. transport the grain and soybeans to manufacturers of feed on gas-guzzling, pollution-spewing 18-wheelers
3. operate the feed mills (requiring massive energy expenditures)
4. transport the feed to the factory farms (again, in inefficient vehicles)
5. operate the factory farms
6. truck the animals many miles to slaughter
7. operate the slaughterhouse
8. transport the meat to processing plants
9. operate the meat-processing plants
10. transport the meat to grocery stores
11. keep the meat refrigerated or frozen in the stores until it's sold or thrown out

(I grabbed this list from an environmental web site. It isn't copyrighted.)

These steps are really just common sense, aren't they? But every step of this process creates enormous pollution and greenhouse gases and uses massive amounts of energy. In terms of resource usage and waste output, it's the most inefficient food delivery system ever designed. If not for generous government subsidies to pay for it, it's unlikely it could be sustained. But it makes some people a lot of money, and apparently a lot of customers don't mind.

When you eat plant foods directly, you still have a few of these steps, but you completely bypass the most wasteful ones. And if you just stop eating meat and go lacto-ovo vegetarian, you cut out more than half the waste you're creating.

This is probably why I've never met a non-vegan environmentalist.

[Lauxa]

You do realize that the environmental impact of meat is less when you eat free-range grass-fed animals? The steps of growing and transporting grain are eliminated, and land that is not particularly productive as farmland can support grass growth for ranging animals.

Not only are grass-fed animals more environmentally friendly, they are more healthful to eat. The omega-3 to omega-6 fat ratio is higher, more like 1:2 versus 1:6 or 1:12 in grain-fed animals.

About the environmental impact of local versus shipped produce, the information I have read suggests that the largest fuel cost of distributing groceries is that of consumers driving to the store to purchase the food. Therefore, if you are driving 30 minutes to a farmers market versus 5 minutes to your local grocer it may be counter-productive, environmentally speaking. Still, IMHO, there is something to be said for fresher produce and supporting local people and communities instead of the big-box corporate distributors.

[Jake Birkett]

Yeah good post on reducing environmental impact by going vegan. Actually the biggest thing you can do to protect the environment is not have kids (I've failed on that count) apparently...

btw, someone once said to me, "Oh, so you drink soya milk which is made from soya beans that are grown in deforested areas then?" I said "Well actually the soya milk I drink is from an organic and soil association approved source; the soya you are talking about is used to feed the cows that you eat in burgers" :-)

[joanmhe]

In terms of farmer's markets - I'm lucky that the farm stands and markets are actually closer than my local grocery stores., so the food is transported 10-15 miles total. Many of the grocery stores now have local suppliers in the summer months, also. "Massachusetts grown and fresher" is the state marketing campaign.
I think the main advantage of local grown is the freshness which carries a huge nutritional adavantage over produce that has been picked unripe and has spent 5 days on a truck, then treated with a gas to get "ripe". How does this type of processing affect the "live" food? With each day of storage for green vegetables, there is a loss of nutreints. I have read that frozen veggies are more nutritious than the fresh ones in stores in the winter around here.
Unfortunately, the organic produce in the grocery stores is not usually local, and often looks half-way gone.
Another "local" issue: I'm not sure if the energy consumption of a green-house for growing the "local" lettuce and tomatoes in winter is less than the trucking. The vegetables taste much better, so seem to be more nutritious.
Anyway, I am learning so much from these posts from so many of you. Prior to reading this blog, I has never heard of the paleo diet, the raw diet, radical unschooling. I thought I had to eat lots of beans and soy to make up for not eating meat. I thought I needed dairy to get calcium. Thanks everyone!

[wulph]

@joanmhe: Another BIG draw for me to shop the farmer's markets is that they often don't have that nasty wax all over the food.

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

I do care about the environment, but even if I could favor local produce, the impact would be negligible compared to other lifestyle decisions I’ve already made. The evidence overwhelmingly points to going vegan as the single best thing I can do to minimize my individual environmental impact, and I made that switch 11 years ago. Pretty much nothing else I can do in my lifetime will come close to that. I can stop driving a car, stop using all water, and stop eating completely, and it won’t make nearly as much difference in terms of resource savings as when I stopped consuming animal products.

Hang on a minute, that seems very strange logic! That's like saying "What I've already done has increased my income twentyfold, so there's no point doing something else that will merely double it" or "My change of diet and exercise has already improved my health 500% over SAD & a sedentary life, so there's no point improving it another 100% by further refining my exercise and diet".

[Joeschmoe]

Originally Posted by Keith

Hang on a minute, that seems very strange logic! That's like saying "What I've already done has increased my income twentyfold, so there's no point doing something else that will merely double it" or "My change of diet and exercise has already improved my health 500% over SAD & a sedentary life, so there's no point improving it another 100% by further refining my exercise and diet".

Actually his example is multiplicative downward and yours are upward. So going from 20 fold and increasing it 100% gets you 40 fold. But if you are dividing downward. So say he cut his Carbon emissions 90% if he cuts another 50% he only cut 1/18 of what he cut with one fell swoop. So he only gets 1/18th the benefit as opposed to your example where he get 20x the benefit.

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Joeschmoe

Actually his example is multiplicative downward and yours are upward. So going from 20 fold and increasing it 100% gets you 40 fold. But if you are dividing downward. So say he cut his Carbon emissions 90% if he cuts another 50% he only cut 1/18 of what he cut with one fell swoop. So he only gets 1/18th the benefit as opposed to your example where he get 20x the benefit.

The precise number isn't really the point - the point is why stop making improvements just because you've made some already? If you make 1 million dollars a year, why not make 1.05 million if you can?

P.S. Some actions (such as reforestation and ocean preservation) address climate change to a greater extent than just reducing your personal emissions.

[Savage]

Originally Posted by Keith

The precise number isn't really the point - the point is why stop making improvements just because you've made some already? If you make 1 million dollars a year, why not make 1.05 million if you can?

P.S. Some actions (such as reforestation and ocean preservation) address climate change to a greater extent than just reducing your personal emissions.

Your focus is a little too narrow. Consider the big picture.

If you made $1 million, you could make an extra $50K for yourself, or you could teach hundreds of others how to make $1 million (genuinely, that is, not as some kind of silly scam). One approach generates $50K of additional value. The other generates hundreds of millions.

I prefer the latter strategy because it's more effective. By sharing my personal experience with vegetarianism, veganism, and raw foodism -- without even trying to convince people to adopt these diets for themselves -- hundreds of people have informed me they've tried one or more of these diets as a result, and dozens have said they've committed to permanent changes. This will have much more ecological impact than any amount of optimization I can perform as an individual.

By the 80-20 rule, I suggest that once you've done the first 80% for yourself, you're better off helping others achieve that first 80% vs. trying to optimize your last personal 20%, at least when it comes to changes that work on a communal level, such as environmental issues.

This perspective doesn't excuse us from continuing to grow as individuals, but there comes a point where individual advancement becomes largely meaningless without collective action.

We are all in this together. The health of our environment won't be improved by a few individuals ditching the rest of humanity in their quest for greater purity. We can only sink or swim together.

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

Your focus is a little too narrow. Consider the big picture.

If you made $1 million, you could make an extra $50K for yourself, or you could teach hundreds of others how to make $1 million (genuinely, that is, not as some kind of silly scam). One approach generates $50K of additional value. The other generates hundreds of millions.

I prefer the latter strategy because it's more effective. By sharing my personal experience with vegetarianism, veganism, and raw foodism -- without even trying to convince people to adopt these diets for themselves -- hundreds of people have informed me they've tried one or more of these diets as a result, and dozens have said they've committed to permanent changes. This will have much more ecological impact than any amount of optimization I can perform as an individual.

By the 80-20 rule, I suggest that once you've done the first 80% for yourself, you're better off helping others achieve that first 80% vs. trying to optimize your last personal 20%, at least when it comes to changes that work on a communal level, such as environmental issues.

This perspective doesn't excuse us from continuing to grow as individuals, but there comes a point where individual advancement becomes largely meaningless without collective action.

We are all in this together. The health of our environment won't be improved by a few individuals ditching the rest of humanity in their quest for greater purity. We can only sink or swim together.

I'm a big believer in the 80-20 principle, and what you say makes a lot of sense.

But it still seems to be an either-or mentality. Now that you've both personally completed and shared the 80%, why not both do the remaining 20% and share that experience with everyone too?

In fact, sustainable (or better!) living looks like a good suggestion for a 30 day trial. You were looking for something challenging that would be of benefit to your readers. If you blazed a trail in this area it could have a huge beneficial impact.

I'll pop over to the 30 day trial thread and suggest it.

P.S. I suspect that, as per "going from a 7 to a 10" that as you look deeper into that 20% you might find more like 50% or 80% or 200% hiding in there (though that's speculation of course).